A developer's marketing ploy of selectively numbering a 46-storey apartment building up to the lofty heights of an 88th floor has sparked calls for action by lawmakers.
The Democratic Party said it would push for a Legco inquiry into whether Henderson Land Development violated ethical standards by claiming that a luxury Mid-Levels development had apartments on the 66th, 68th and 88th floors when in fact the building had just 46 storeys.
Other parties expressed concern and suggested measures to stop deceptive practices. The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong called for an independent watchdog to oversee the property sector, while the Liberal Party suggested capping the number of floors that could be skipped.
In its sales material for 39 Conduit Road, Henderson Land uses a creative floor numbering system that dispenses with 48 floors and labels its top three floors 66, 68 and 88, lucky numbers in Chinese numerology.
'I will ask the Legislative Council's economic services panel to look into why the government allowed Henderson to use a ridiculous numbering system,' Democratic Party chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan said.
The move comes amid concerns about other misleading marketing practices commonly used by developers, such as claiming units have more floor area than is actually inside an apartment by including common areas as part of the flat's floor space, a practice that can inflate its size by as much as 20 per cent.